Tips For Avoiding ID Theft

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Tips For Avoiding ID Theft

• And
• What To Do If You Are A Victim

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Identity theft someone stealing your personal
information to use for illegal purposes is a
crime that can damage your credit, your
reputation, and your peace of mind You can
reduce the possibility of becoming a victim by
keeping your personal information secure

• Guard your financial information
• Only provide credit card, bank account when you
  are actually paying for something with it
• Keep your social security number confidential
• Dont provide it to anyone unless youre sure who
  they are and why its needed
• Ask your health insurer, motor vehicle
  department, others who use it as ID to give you a
  substitute number

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• Beware of imposters
• Be especially suspicious if you get call or email
  from someone claiming to be from company you do
  business with, asking for information they should
  already have
• Contact company directly to confirm

• Keep your mail safe
• Collect it promptly from mailbox
• Ask post office to hold it while youre away
• Send bill payments from post office or public
  mailbox

• Get off credit marketing list thieves can steal
  these mailings and apply for credit in your name
• Call [phone]
• Your social security number will be required
• Removes you from credit marketing lists compiled
  by credit bureaus, does not hurt ability to get
  credit

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• Lock it up
• Keep personal information locked up at home,
  work, school
• Dont leave PIN numbers or passwords in wallet or
  on desk memorize them

• Stay safe online
• Dont send credit card , other sensitive
  information by email
• When providing financial, other sensitive
  information on Web sites, address should change
  from http to shttp or https
• Browser may also show that information is being
  encrypted, scrambled to transmit it safely

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• If you are on active duty in the military, be on
  guard for ID theft
• Put an active duty alert in your credit files so
  creditors will take extra steps to ensure that
  someone is not pretending to be you
• Only need to contact 1 credit bureau, alert will
  go to other 2 bureaus
• Everyone should check their credit reports
  regularly at least once a year

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• If you were denied credit on basis of report, you
  can ask credit bureau that report came from for a
  free copy
• You can get free copies of report from all 3
  major bureaus if
• You are victim of ID theft
• You are on public assistance
• You are unemployed but expect to apply for work
  within 60 days

• To place active duty military alert or get credit
  reports in above situations, contact
• Equifax, 800-525-6285, www.equifax.com
• Experian, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com
• TransUnion, 800-680-7289, www.transunion.com

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• New right to get free annual credit reports
• New law enables everyone to get one free copy of
  credit report from 3 major bureaus once every 12
  months
• Free annual report program is being phased in
  geographically from West to East
• Started on West coast December 1, 2004
• People on East coast will be able to request free
  annual reports on or after September 1, 2005
• Go to Federal Trade Commission Web site,
  www.ftc.gov/credit or call 877-382-4357 for more
  details and to see when you can begin requesting
  free annual reports

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Do not contact the credit bureaus directly to get
these free annual reports

• They are only available by calling 877-322-8228
  or going to www.annualcreditreport.com
• You do not need to ask for reports from all 3
  bureaus at same time you can stagger your
  requests
• Your state law may give you right to free
  reports, in addition to rights under federal law
• Always review your credit reports carefully
• If you find accounts that dont belong to you or
  incorrect information on credit reports, follow
  instructions to dispute

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• Be cautious about buying credit monitoring
  services
• Read description of services carefully
• Some credit monitoring services cost hundreds of
  per year
• You can buy copies of your credit reports any
  time from the credit bureaus for about 9
• Why pay for credit monitoring services when you
  can get reports free or cheap?
• Not needed unless youre a victim of serious,
  ongoing ID theft
• Go to credit bureau Web sites or call to purchase
  
• Phone numbers to purchase reports
• Equifax, 800-685-1111
• Experian, 800-311-4769
• TransUnion, 800-888-4218

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• If you are a victim of ID theft
• Contact the Federal Trade Commissions ID Theft
  Clearinghouse, 877-438-4338, www.consumer.gov/idth
  eft
• Get advice and free booklet, ID Theft When Bad
  Things Happen To Your Good Name
• Report problem so law enforcement agencies can
  use information to track and investigate

• Report the crime to law enforcement agencies
• Get official identity theft report to help
  assert your rights
• Report to police where crime occurred, local
  police, state or federal agency, including U.S.
  Postal Inspection Service
• Do not use complaint to FTC as identity theft
  report
• Official identity theft report must require
  sworn statement and have penalties for lying to
  discourage false reports

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• Other steps to take depend on what kind of
  information was stolen and how it was used
• When a financial account is involved, contact
  bank immediately, ask what you need to do to
  protect your money
• If someone fraudulently uses your credit card,
  you are not responsible for more than 50, most
  card issuers will remove charges completely if
  you report problem promptly
• Your losses could be greater if someone uses your
  debit card, but your card issuer may have policy
  that offers you more protection than law provides
• Contest checks that have been used with your
  forged signature or unauthorized withdrawals with
  your bank

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• Respond quickly if debt collectors contact you
  about accounts ID thieves opened or unauthorized
  charges to your accounts
• Respond in writing, keep a copy
• Explain why you dont owe the money, enclose
  copies of supporting documents and identity
  theft report
• You have right to ask debt collector for name of
  business that is owed money and how much

You also have the right to ask the business that
is owed the money for copies of credit
applications, other documents relating to the ID
theft
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• Put fraud alert on your credit files so creditors
  will take extra precautions to verify that
  someone is not pretending to be you
• Two kinds of fraud alerts
• initial fraud alert says on records 90 days,
  does not require official identity theft report
• extended fraud alert stays on records for 7
  years, requires official identity theft report

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• Which kind of alert to place in credit files?
• Place initial alert if you think you might be ID
  theft victim but not sure for example
• if you lost your wallet
• if you find out someone got access to customer
  records at place you do buisness
• Place extended fraud alert if you have reason to
  believe someone illegally used your ID
• If you put initial fraud alert on file, you can
  always request extended alert later if need be
• Only need to contact 1 credit bureau fraud alert
  will be shared with other 2
• Equifax, 800-525-6285, www.equifax.com
• Experian, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com
• TransUnion, 800-680-7289, www.transunion.com

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• When you file fraud alerts, credit bureaus will
  contact you to offer free copies of your credit
  reports
• If you filed initial fraud alert, you can get 1
  copy of report from each credit bureau
• If you filed extended fraud alert, you can get 2
  copies from each, one immediately, other within
  12 months
• Since information at credit bureaus may differ,
  get reports from all 3

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• Check reports carefully, follow instructions to
  dispute unauthorized accounts or charges
• Be specific about information you believe is
  result of ID theft
• You can permanently block that information from
  report
• You will need to provide copy of official
  identity theft report to do so
• Only need to report problems with credit report
  to 1 bureau, information will be shared with
  other 2